Excel file is locked for editing by another user

You are trying to open an Excel file and you get: “File in Use: File is locked for editing by another user.” Sometimes the file is locked by another user, and other times the "another user" is actually you. If you have locked the file yourself, it might be because the file is open on a different device, or the previous instance of the file didn't close properly.

Make sure the file is closed on all your devices. If the error still occurs, wait a few minutes for the server to release the lock on the file. (Sometimes the server thinks you have the file open, and just needs to catch up with what’s really going on.)

If the other user is not you, you can wait until the other person is done and has closed the file. You can also choose to view it as read-only. Or, you can ask the person to close the file, check it in, or give you edit permissions.

If you want to work on the file at the same time as other people, then make sure everyone uses a version of Excel that supports co-authoring. When you co-author, more than one person can open the file, and you can see each other's changes quickly — in a matter of seconds.

Versions of Excel that support co-authoring:

Excel 2016 for Windows*

Excel 2016 for Mac*

Excel Online

Excel for Android

Excel for iOS

Excel Mobile

* Co-authoring in this version requires the latest version of Excel installed, and requires you to sign in to Office with an Office 365 subscription account. Please note that if you have a work or school account, you might not have a version of Office that supports co-authoring yet. This might be because your administrator hasn’t provided the latest version to install. Or, if you're using Excel 2016 for Windows, it might be because your company or school is on the Semi-Annual Update Channel. You can tell if you are on this channel by going to File > Account. If it says Semi-annual Channel next to About Excel, then co-authoring isn’t available yet for you.

If just one person uses a version of Excel that doesn't support co-authoring, then everyone else will get the "locked" error — even if everyone else is using a version of Excel that does support co-authoring.

If people aren’t sure which version of the app they have, then encourage everyone to use Excel Online to co-author in a web browser.

If you want to avoid the error by co-authoring with others, put the file on OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint. If the file is saved to another location that doesn’t support co-authoring, people will get the “locked” error. The following locations do not support co-authoring:

Server paths like \\server\folder and smb://server/folder

Cloud locations like DropBox, Box, and Google Drive

Local folders on your Windows or Mac computer

Libraries on SharePoint On-Premises sites. If you have an on-premises site and Excel 2016, try using Excel Online to co-author instead.

For Windows: If you are trying to co-author, check the file name of the file and make sure it is in either .xlsx, .xlsm, or .xlsb format. If the file is in another format, go to File > Save As > Browse > Save as type and choose the .xlsx, .xlsm, or .xlsb format.

For Mac: If you are trying to co-author, check the file name of the file and make sure it is in either .xlsx, .xlsm, or .xlsb format. If the file is in another format, go to File > Save As... and choose the .xlsx, .xlsm, or .xlsb format.

If you are trying to co-author, the “locked” error can occur if the file uses a feature that is not supported by co-authoring. Ask the person who has the file open to do one or more of the following. The first thing to try is to turn off the Shared Workbook feature. Also, if you are opening a snapshot from SharePoint, open the workbook itself instead. If those two solutions don't work, try one or more of the following.

Turn off the Refresh data when opening file setting on all tables and PivotTables in the file. Select the table or PivotTable, then go to Table Tools Design > Refresh > Connection Properties. Then uncheck Refresh data when opening file.

Turn off the Refresh data when opening file setting on all tables and PivotTables in the file. Select the table or PivotTable, then go to the Table tab > Refresh > Connection Properties. Then uncheck Refresh data when opening file.

Inactivate an add-in that's causing the lock. Select Tools > Excel Add-ins and then clear the check box for the add-in.